Gear & AmmoAccessoriesFirst Look: Vortex Defender-XL Red Dot Sight

First Look: Vortex Defender-XL Red Dot Sight

-

We take a quick look at the new Defender-XL from Vortex Optics, a large pistol red dot sight designed for competition.

Vortex Optics has just released the third model in its Defender line of pistol red dots, the Defender-XL. As the name suggests, it’s larger than both the Defender-ST and the Defender CCW. While it was primarily made with competition handguns in mind, the Defender-XL will be right at home on any firearm where optic size doesn’t matter, whether that be a home defense pistol, a shotgun or even a PCC.

vortex-defender-xl-carbine

The biggest advantage of a larger red dot sight is the greater field of view it can provide given the increased window size, and the Defender-XL offers just that with its ultra-wide aspherical lens. To complement the enhanced window size, the red dot is available with either a 5- or 8-MOA reticle. Brightness is manually adjustable and there are 10 levels for daytime and 2 for use with night vision.

vortex-defender-xl-window

The other features worth mentioning are what you’d expect of a red dot in Vortex’s Defender line. Mounted via a DeltaPoint Pro footprint, it has motion activation, a 10-minute auto-shutoff, a textured front surface to assist with racking a pistol and a top-mount battery compartment. Speaking of batteries, it runs off one CR2032 and has an advertised runtime of 25,000 hours.

vortex-defender-xl-pistol

Each Defender-XL red dot will ship with a ShockShield polymer insert, a Glock MOS adapter plate, a Picatinny mount, a rubber cover, a lens cloth, a tool and one battery, as well as 5 sets of mounting screws. It’s available now and MSRP is $599.99.

For more information, please visit vortexoptics.com.


More On Pistol Red Dots:

  • The Red Dot Advantage
  • The Best Optics For CCW
  • The Aimpoint ACRO P-2
  • The Trijicon RMR
  • The Swampfox Liberator II
  • 44-Targetposters-pack-GD-reduced-300

    Next Step: Get your FREE Printable Target Pack

    Enhance your shooting precision with our 62 MOA Targets, perfect for rifles and handguns. Crafted in collaboration with Storm Tactical for accuracy and versatility.

    Subscribe to the Gun Digest email newsletter and get your downloadable target pack sent straight to your inbox. Stay updated with the latest firearms info in the industry.

    Adam Borisenko
    Adam Borisenko
    Adam Borisenko is the Online Editor for Gun Digest. He lives in Iowa where he has studied, collected and enjoyed shooting firearms for most of his life. While he has experience covering a wide array of different subjects, his special interest is in Combloc guns and other military small arms from the second half of the 20th century.

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    MUST READ ARTICLES

    ×